Part Six: Science Vs The Supernatural

"You were what?" Dean said, handing a glass of water to Lucas.

"There was a woman…"

"Woman? Dude, did you get enough sleep?"

"You didn't see the woman with red hair?" Sam asked, rubbing his eyes. Had he been dreaming?

Lucas froze; the boy had seen the woman with red hair. He had seen her.

"What was she wearing?" Lucas asked, gulping down the water to steady his nerves.

"Umm…a green dress," Sam answered, not knowing what to believe.

"You saw her, you saw the ben side…" Lucas said, shaking his head.

"The what?" Dean retorted. Why hadn't he seen this random redhead?

"The banshee," Lucas whispered, pulling the covers around him.

"You've seen her before?" Sam said, wondering what was going on.

"I always see her," Lucas replied, laughing slightly, "she's my stalker."

"Why is she stalking you?"

"To make sure…"

"To make sure what?"

"That I die."

"Mrs. O'Neill, the results from the tests we did earlier have come back and I think I may know what's wrong with your husband," Dr. Frank said softly, looking straight into the woman's eyes.

"Really?" Robin said, preparing herself for the doctor's answer.

"I believe your husband has clinical lycanthropy. This is a rare mental disorder where the person believes they are transforming into, or are an animal."

Robin contemplated the doctor's words, it seemed to make sense.

"Has Lucas suffered any major traumas lately?" Dr. Frank asked, watching the girl take in the information.

"Umm…his Aunt died a few months ago."

"Were him and his Aunt very close?" the doctor continued, scribbling things in his notepad.

"Yeah, she was his only blood relation left," Robin replied, flicking through the past months. Could it all just be in Lucas' head?

"Hmm…well the shock could have triggered a mental lapse. Do you know if there has been a history of mental illness in the family at all?"

"Not that I know of…so are you sure that Lucas definitely has this lycanthropy?" Robin said, clutching her fists together tightly.

The doctor sighed, dropping his pad onto the table, "I can never be 100 sure of anything, but looking over your husband's symptoms and the test results, I would say it's the best answer I can provide."

"Ok…" Robin replied, staring at the floor, not sure whether to cry or feel relieved. Her husband was either turning into a wolf or he was insane, neither was a great option.

"Look, there a number of good facilities for your husband in Boulder. Or I could recommend one nearer to your home," the doctor said, trying to bring the girl back from her reverie.

"Facility?" Robin said softly, her eyes gazing out the window.

"Your husband needs constant supervision, in case he hurts himself or others…"

"Will he be like this forever?"

"I don't know…perhaps with drugs and therapy, he might improve. But I don't want to get your hopes up," the doctor said sadly. She was still so young; she didn't deserve such a blow in to her life but come to think of it, neither did her husband.

Robin let the doctor's words wash over her, as she tried to picture the next years of her life. Could she stay married to someone like this? Was it possible? Or would she have to leave him and get on with her own life? But her heart ached as she thought of an existence without Lucas.

"I'd better get back and check on my husband, he might be wondering where I am," the girl said, getting out of her seat.

"I'm so sorry," Dr. Frank replied, shaking the girl's hand warmly.

Robin looked at the doctor's kind face and she tried to return the smile but she just couldn't bring herself to. Not now.

"Why would she want you to die?" Sam asked, becoming more worried by the second.

Lucas didn't answer though, his mind was racing as images from the night before started to come back to him. He could see Robin's face filled with fear and hurt, tears in her eyes.

"Lucas, why does she want you to die? Is she a death omen or something?" Dean said quickly, grabbing the man's arm.

"Where's Robin?" the boy replied with dazed eyes.

"She's talking to a doctor. Lucas, what's going on?" Sam said, the mysterious woman's face flashing in his head.

"Who are you two?" the boy asked, seeming to ignore the brother's questions.

"I'm Sam, this is my brother Dean. Robin hired us to help look for you."

Lucas nodded, pouring himself another glass of water, "how much did she pay you?"

"It doesn't matter. Tell us about this woman," Dean snapped.

She was the key, he just knew it.

"Hey, you shot me last night," Lucas muttered absentmindedly, taking another sip of his water.

Sam stared at the boy, what was wrong with him? He was completely lucid one minute and now he seemed totally out of touch with reality.

"Lucas, please, tell me about the woman for Robin's sake," Dean said forcefully, taking the glass out of his hands.

At the mention of Robin, he sat up a little straighter, "she shouldn't have come. She'll only get hurt."

"Why?"

"Because of me, because of the thing that's inside of me," the boy replied sadly.

"But how did this happen in the first place?" Sam asked, sitting down at the foot of the bed.

Lucas sighed, he hadn't told anyone about his family's secret and having it on his shoulders was slowly becoming a burden he couldn't handle. So why shouldn't he just let it go? And who better to tell then two complete strangers?

"I was born in England and shortly afterwards, both my parents were killed in a car crash or that's what I was told. Anyway, my Aunt, Katelin O'Neill, my father's sister took guardianship over me and moved us to America. First we were here in Boulder then we moved to New York later and I met Robin," Lucas paused, as he thought of his wife.

"So you know, I had a good life. But I always had questions about my family and my Aunt would never really answer them properly, she didn't even have pictures of them to show me. Over the years, I kind of gave up a bit, thinking I could just start a new family history here with Robin. But then a few months back, just before our wedding, my Aunt died from a stroke. I don't think I ever cried so much in my life but I had Robin and she helped me through it. Eventually, we started to go through my Aunt's belongings and I stumbled across this bunch of letters from this woman in Ireland. My Aunt and her had been writing for years and years to each other, practically all my life…"

"Who was this woman?" Sam asked, entranced by the story.

"My grandma. All this time, I had a grandma and my Aunt never told me. She had lied. Anyway, our wedding was coming up so I didn't think about it for a while until at our reception, Robin announced she had secretly booked us a honeymoon to Ireland; we were leaving for Belfast the next day. I couldn't believe it. We would be able to see my grandma; the town on the address was Irvinestown which is just a short drive from the city. I was so happy. But I should have known there was a reason that my Aunt hadn't told me…I should have known," the boy said bitterly.

"Hey, you can't predict the future," Dean added, trying to soothe the boy's pain.

"So we got to Belfast and everything was going good. Me and Robin were married and happy. A couple of days in though, Robin got sick, I think it was the prawns, anyway she could barely move so she told me to take a day for myself and do whatever I wanted. So I decided to drive up to the town. When I got there, I asked around for my grandma, Imogen and luckily someone told me that she was coming into town that day for her weekly lunch at a nearby pub, so I went there to wait for her. I remember I was sitting by the table in the corner when I saw her, she looked so much like my Aunt…"

"Excuse me," Lucas asked, feeling his nerves in his stomach as he approached the old woman.

"What yer want?" the woman replied, not looking at him.

"Are you Imogen O'Neill?"

"Yer, who wants to…" but as she turned around to stare at the stranger, she couldn't believe it. It was her son, it was Euan.

"Hi…I'm Lucas. I'm your grandson…"

But the boy didn't have to time to finish as the woman bolted out of the door.

No, this wasn't happening, why was he here? Imogen thought to herself, as she hobbled away.

Lucas ran after the woman, catching her in a nearby park, "please…I need to talk you."

"Get away from me, boy! Get away!" she screamed, struggling to get free.

"Katelin's dead!" Lucas cried out.

The old woman stopped in her tracks, her daughter was dead.

"I'm sorry," the boy said, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Oh Katelin…" the woman sobbed, as giant tears ran down her cheeks, "I've killed you all."

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asked, guiding his grandma to a nearby bench.

"Oh my dear, you shouldn't have come…you shouldn't have come…" the old woman cried on, taking his hand.

"Why? You're all the family I've got."

"Because I'm cursed, our family is cursed…" Imogen said loudly, throwing her arms into the air.

"What? I don't understand."

"You have to know, I didn't want this for you. We wanted to save you but now…It's all lost. Everything's lost."

"What's lost? Tell me what's going on, please," Lucas muttered, staring at his grandma.

Imogen took a deep breath and wiped her tears away, he had to know.

"Before you were born, we all lived here, on a farm just outside the town. Me, your grand-dad, your Aunt, your mother, father, all of us. But one night, I couldn't sleep and went down to the kitchen for a drink but when I got there, I heard this noise coming from the cow sheds. So I took your grand-dad's gun and went to see what it was…but now I wished I had left well alone. Anyway, when I got in there, I saw it, this wolf eating one of my prize cows so I did what we always do, I shot it. Shot it dead. I wasn't to know that…" but the tears had caught her again.

"What? You didn't know what?" Lucas asked, his heart beating faster with every second.

"That it was her son," Imogen spat out.

"Whose son?"

"Hers, the ben side's…"

"Who?"

"Me," a voice shouted.

Both Lucas and Imogen looked up at the sound and saw the woman that was the cause of their family's pain. The woman in the green dress with flaming red hair and the power to ruin.

Writer's note: Pure, you're a star...LOL. :-)